Sean Collier was born to be a police officer, those who remembered him Friday said.

Collier, 26, died in the line of duty Thursday night, allegedly shot by the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings. He had been responding to a reported disturbance on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked.

A Wilmington native, Collier most recently lived in Somerville, his apartment a block away from a neighborhood police station and down the road from the Teele Square Fire Station.

Standing against the police line cordoning off Collier's street Friday afternoon, Somerville Alderman Bob Trane spoke about the fallen officer's commitment to law enforcement, apparent any time he talked about his career path.

A neighbor (in turquoise sweater) hugs people outside the family home in Wilmington of slain MIT police Officer Sean Collier on Friday. Collier, 26, of Somerville, was shot to death in Cambridge Thursday night.
SUN / JULIA MALAKIE

"You could tell this is what he wanted to do," Trane said. "He wanted to help people and serve the community."

Trane said that from the first time they met, two or three years ago, he was impressed by Collier's maturity and wisdom.

Before joining the MIT police in January of last year, Collier worked in IT for the Somerville Police Department, a civilian post.

As a city official, Trane said he meets lots of young people working in public safety. But Collier stood out.

"Something about Sean just struck me," he said. "You knew this kid had something different about him. He wanted to make a difference."

About 10:20 p.m. Thursday, police received reports of shots fired on the MIT campus.

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According to the Middlesex District Attorney's office, at about 10:30 p.m., another MIT officer found Collier in his vehicle, with multiple gunshot wounds. Collier was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced dead.

The MIT incident launched a manhunt that remained underway Friday evening, as authorities searched for Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, believed to be one of the bombers.

The Collier family released the following statement through the attorney general's office:

"We are heartbroken by the loss of our wonderful and caring son and brother, Sean Collier. Our only solace is that Sean died bravely doing what he committed his life to -- serving and protecting others.

"We are thankful for the outpouring of support and condolences offered by so many people. We are grieving his loss and ask that the media respect our privacy at this time."

MIT Police Chief John DiFava described Collier as a dedicated officer who was extremely well-liked by his colleagues and the MIT community.

"Sean was one of those guys who really looked at police work as a calling," DiFava said in a statement.

DiFava praised Collier's ability to engage with students, particularly the members of the MIT Outing Club, with whom he traveled on hiking trips.

Club members launched a tribute blog on Friday, sharing memories of Collier, whom one described as "our hero, family, and protector all in one."

"I have never met a person so eager to help, so eager to be a friend, as Sean," another poster wrote.

Outing Club members recalled him singing along at campfires even when he didn't know the lyrics, buying earplugs for the whole group so no one would be kept awake by snoring and always packing pepperoni as a snack on winter hikes.

"He also told me how he wanted to work in law enforcement as well, and that being a cop would be his 'dream job,'" wrote one poster who rode with Collier to Maine on a rafting trip. "I'm saddened that he was brutally murdered, but I'm encouraged because he died a hero and doing what he loved."

Collier is a 2004 graduate of Wilmington High School. He graduated from Salem State College in 2009, earning a criminal justice degree with honors.

At the Collier family home in Wilmington on Friday, cars full of friends and family arrived throughout the morning, with about a dozen vehicles parked on the cul-de-sac at one point.

As the family gathered on a back porch and on the front steps, two Wilmington police officers stood out front, to manage crowds and ensure the family's privacy. Friends sent flowers and came by with coffee and pastry.

Neighbors described the Colliers as a close, loving family.

Collier is the second fallen officer with local ties mourned by the Wilmington community in recent years. Wilmington resident and Woburn Police Officer John "Jack" Maguire, a 34-year police veteran eight months away from retirement, was shot responding to an armed robbery on Dec. 26, 2010.

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